This blog chronicles my health, fitness, weight loss, and (finally!) weight maintenance adventures. I work out (usually) and follow the Weight Watchers plan (typically). I became a newbie runner (really!) by training using the couch to 5k plan, and soon I plan to train for a 10k (yikes!).
I expect I'll also occasionally ramble on about other life experiences and events. There's more to life than fitness, or so I'm told.

Thursday, April 24, 2008

"Don't spoil your dinner!" ~~ EDIT: Test results

I posted a comment on Ashley’s blog, and then decided to expand on it here, because I wonder if others had the same childhood learning that they had to unlearn (or if you learned it but it still works for you).

I know a lot of us were members of the “clean plate club” … you couldn’t leave the table until you finished your dinner, there are starving kids in China, blah blah blah. A lot of us had to drop out of that club and change that learning before we could successfully lose weight.

That's not the club I'm talking about, though. I was a member of another club. I was a member of the “don’t spoil your dinner” club. I remember being RAVENOUS waiting for dinner to be ready. Mom was cooking, kids were helping out, and OH the hunger. And I remember not being allowed to eat anything during that time because it would “spoil my dinner.”

I carried that idea into my adulthood … if I was cooking or especially if I was going out to dinner, I wouldn’t let myself eat anything. That way I’d be good and hungry at dinner.

Oh my gawd! Talk about a recipe for overeating!

I really had to retrain myself on the whole eating before dinner thing. It’s extra-important for me these days, since my husband gets home from work fairly late. Now, I have a late afternoon snack with some protein (often a vitamuffin and skim milk – 3 points and oh so good), and then sometimes an even later right-before-dinner snack of raw veggies. I find it really helps me keep the overeating at dinner in check, and I make better food choices when I’m looking at a menu because I’m not ravenous.

Was anybody else a member of the “don’t spoil your dinner” club? I’m curious – have you dropped out of the club?

Can you tell I’m totally trying to distract myself from thinking about the fact that I still haven’t heard from the doc with my test results? I called the office four and a half hours ago (after three hours of watching the clock), and asked them to call me, and they said they’d call me back. No word yet. ARGH!

I did get my MyShape clothes, though. I’m holding off on the review for now … details to follow (I wouldn’t consider the MyShape experience over at this point).

----------------------------------EDITED TO ADD:I heard from the doctor. STILL no definitive answers. STILL they THINK this is a typical not-of-concern hemangioma, but they don't know for sure and they need to know for sure because the alternatives are bad news. Now they're sending me for a Nuclear Medicine Scan. That'll have to happen after I get back from vacation.

I'm a member of the don't spoil your dinner club. Then dinner comes and i'm so hungry that i basically inhale it and get no enjoyment out of it. So like you i have a healthy snack and it is helping lots :)

Bummer about the results, but like you said at least it's not bad news. Thinking of you.

I am a former-member of the Don't Spoil Dinner club- but I am a current ad very active member of the Cleane Your Plate Club! It IS a habit- and one thats tough to break. I'm working on listening to my body more.

I had the dubious pleasure of being a member of both clubs. My mother was president of the don't spoil your dinner club, and my father (who did all the cooking) was all about cleaning your plate. His motivation for that was more about accepting his love in the form of food rather than starving kids in China. I was doomed. I am learning to break both habits, but the finishing your plate thing has been the hardes, but Im learning.

Im glad you heard at least something from the Dr. Waiting has to be the worst. Take care of yourself, and use your vacation to recharge and relax. Try not to worry too much while there. Hang in there!

Every time you write about this medical issue, I'm a little more encouraged. I think "inconclusive"--by this time--is a very good thing, and I'm convinced it's not much of anything at all. Have a great weekend, my dear.

Okay, I somehow missed this entry. I am totally a member of the clean plate club and fight that battle daily. I never even thought about how my mom always used to tell me not to spoil my dinner. And you know what? I have vowed never to say "You have to clean your plate" to my kids and boyfriend, but I tell Chris, "don't eat that, I'm cooking dinner" all the time, and never thought about it! Wow, thanks for the light bulb!

Haha! I know exactly what you're talking about! My parents always told me not to spoil my dinner when I was a kid, and it has stuck. Even though I have changed my eating habits a lot lately, i still sometimes think about what my parents said. It's so weird how influenced we are by our olders, and not always for the better.

I don't think 'The Secret' has all the answers for every person but I listened to the audio version last week and there were some very interesting ideas about weight loss and maintaining healthy weight.

I have always struggled with hunger after dinner and snacking. BUT I found this great new product: It has been discovered that many people who are chronically overweight are silently suffering from a condition that they may not even be aware of… Leptin resistance.

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I too was a member--ehem, still am a member, of the don't spoil your dinner club. But how can we be expected to wait hours and hours until dinner some nights? My new thing is to eat lunch an hour later than I usually do. This way I avoid snacking before dinner and I use my work as a way to distract myself from my hunger pains that come earlier in the day now!

I was raised in both the "don't spoil your dinner" and "clean plate" club, and developed habits of wolfing food down. It has been a long process to break them! I am inspired! maybe I will write an article about this too for www.elementsliving.tv

Check out this new nutrition sports cereal! It's easy to take with you for a quick snack or pour it over yogurt for a filling meal. It's natural, keeps you full longer and gives you energy for those tough workouts! www.rokitfuel.com

Yepp, I've definitely been a member of the "Don't spoil your dinner" club up until the last couple months. Dinner has always been a major hurdle in my weight loss campaign. To compensate I'm now trying to eat about 300 calories in fruits and vegetables about 2 hours before dinner which are accounted for in my daily calories, this way I am less likely to overeat. (It still doesn't always work completely)

Yea, the "clean your plate" and "don't spoil your appetite" are hard wired into a lot of children at a very early age so you have years of ingrained bad habits of either overeating or starving yourself while you wait for food.

It's important to 'unlearn' these habits if you want to stay healthy. Some of the simplest ways are to have pre-dinner appetizers and to take smaller servings for dinner. It takes time to change, but the reward is great!

Yes I was brought up in that brigade but you learn that that doesnt help much when you are want to lose weight and keep it off. The thinking nowadays is that you should eat little and often, and definitely sweets either, but the good yummy healthy things. Believe it or not the healthy are yummy even though you didnt think so when you were younger.

@Frankie: Yes, I agree that the thinking nowadays is if you want to lose weight then eat little. But I don't believe in it, in order to lose weight you need to eat the right foods that can burn fats and a healthy exercise. You can use a machine for your daily exercise like elliptical trainer that is good for your heart. For more info check this awesome Elliptical Machines Reviews.

I know when I was starting out over a decade ago I had to get books, magazines to learn new techniques and often they did not give me the results I was looking for. Now with the internet more info is available. Thanks!

I am glad to have found your blog. It is always encouraging to find others who have successfully lost weight. Glad weight watchers worked for you. I use a different approach. Just behavioral change.

I thought you may be interested in sharing the video I did today which I posted on YouTube....it gets across the message about how serious the obesity problem is. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0LpDd55Kq5E The heat maps from year to year are stunning.

About Me

I'm a bit of a smart-ass and I love food. Mmmmmm fooooood ... Because of my food-love I had a few pounds of fat to lose and a few pounds of muscle to gain. I lost weight, and now I'm maintaining my weight loss. I'm maintaining the same way I lost - by following the Weight Watchers eating plan, setting weight and fitness goals, and doing cardio and strength training. This description makes me sound fitness-obsessed, and that's not really the case. I could do with a little more fitness-obsession, actually.

Stats, Goals and Gory Details

Height: 5'6"

Weight Goal: Staying in the low 130's, below 134 pounds.

Goal Reached: March 24, 2008 (that's when I stayed at or below an average of 133 for a 7 day period). I've done it before, too. I originally reached goal in Summer 2003. I gained the damned weight back. I reached goal again in Summer 2006. And I gained some of the weight back.

Other goals: Get fit, get strong, and maintain weight loss once I'm back at goal.